


Choose Me

by dcrksun



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arranged Marriage, Boys Kissing, Childhood Friends, Childhood Sweethearts, Fairy Mark Lee, Friends to Lovers, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, Vampire Na Jaemin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:34:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26583715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dcrksun/pseuds/dcrksun
Summary: With Mark set to marry a girl he'll never love for the sake of his country, is Jaemin too late to win his heart back?Alternatively: Mark Lee, the fairy prince, and Na Jaemin, the vampire, fall in love against the odds.
Relationships: Mark Lee/Na Jaemin
Comments: 12
Kudos: 58





	Choose Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sunshinedm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshinedm/gifts).



> fairies, vampires, princes and arranged marriages... who knew a bunch of totally out of my comfort zone concepts was what i needed to get over my writer's block!
> 
> to the loveliest nana, this was a joy to write and i hope it's everything you dreamed it to be <3
> 
> to all my other lovely readers, get excited for some frequent fic writing and updates!! I have so much planned!
> 
> love you all endlessly & enjoy this fic :)

There are many ways people fall in love.

It can be a typical ‘meet cute’, acquaintances and friends who become lovers, or even enemies who do the same. After all, love is multifaceted and unpredictable. There are no guarantees, no rules it has to follow — and isn’t that the beauty of it? 

As much as Mark likes to think so, he hardly thinks it appropriate to fall for someone just months before his scheduled wedding.

Granted, it is an arranged marriage, one without any semblance of love; but it’s a wedding all the same. Plus, as Mark’s father likes to say, the wellbeing of Lemeria trumps feelings when it comes to a prince. In principle, Mark agrees with that. He grew up with immense love and appreciation for the country he would one day come to rule, and putting it first was always something that came easy to him. Social life mattered little when there were important dinners and balls, hobbies were easily cast aside for lessons of history and manners — and love was pushed to the back bench, not allowed to cloud Mark’s good judgement.

 _Most of the time_ , that is. 

Mark had been in love once before with a boy from the neighbouring vampire kingdom, a boy with a disarming smile and an infectious laugh, a boy who made Mark feel happier than anyone else, but a boy with whom he could never even dream of building a future.

Alas, when their whirlwind romance came to its inevitable end, Mark went to ignoring his feelings. After all, what were they but a burden?

Despite trying to push away his feelings and despite knowing that marrying for love wasn’t customary for a prince, Mark never imagined that one day he would be entering an entirely loveless marriage.

He buried himself in wedding preparations, making list upon list of guests and seating arrangements, browsing through flower bouquets and table decorations, pouring over dinner options and choice beverages — anything to take his mind of the passing days.

It was truly the height of irony how perfect everything was looking by the time Mark walked into the salon where his wedding suit would be fitted, the last touch for a wedding that was impeccable in all but the man he is set to marry.

Mark’s thoughts are interrupted by the arrival of Lee Jeno, one of Lemeria’s most talented and most exclusive tailors. Suitably so, he is dressed in the most perfect dusty pink suit, velvet and hugging his body like a second skin.

“A pleasure to be working with you, Your Highness,” he greets. “To start, we’ll have to take your measurements. While my assistant does that, I’ll just be next door, finishing off with another client."

Mark is about to say something in approval, but his breath catches in his throat when he spots the other client that Jeno was just talking about. 

Na Jaemin.

The boy looks ethereal, like he’s just stepped out of a dream rather than from the backroom. He’s wearing dark jeans and a black button down shirt teasing at a toned chest, his black hair slicked back perfectly, eyes glittering like diamonds in the rays of sunlight filtering through the large windows. To put it simply, Na Jaemin is the single most beautiful being Mark has ever laid eyes on — even more beautiful than the version of him that lived on in Mark’s memories.

If that alone didn’t leave him totally incapacitated, Jaemin’s smile most certainly does. Partially because of the easy flirtatious charm that it holds, but more importantly, because of the way it takes Mark flying back in time. He can’t help it as he finds himself blushing, from the point of his nose to the tips of his ears.

“Give us a moment, please,” Mark utters to Jeno, although he really isn’t sure what it is other than foolishness that motivates him to be alone with the boy who still makes his heart skip a beat. 

“Flustered, my Lord?” Jaemin questions with a smirk as soon as Jeno exits the room.

“It’s Your Highness for you,” Mark corrects. “And I would cut back that snarky tone if I were you. You wouldn’t want to get in trouble.”

Mark knows he has to draw clear boundaries, keep the flirtatious vampire far away if he doesn’t want this weird fluttery feeling in his stomach to completely take over. He can’t let himself fall for him all over again — that would only make having to go through with this wedding even harder, and that’s the last thing he needs right now.

“I seriously doubt you would do anything to get me in trouble,” Jaemin drawls and Mark hates how frustrated the words make him, and not in the angry sense. Goddamn vampires and their stupid charms. 

“You don’t know me anymore, Jaemin. I’m not the foolish boy who cared for you now.”

“Well, since I’m here now, I plan on getting to know the new you,” comes the swift reply and Mark hates how much anticipation that simple sentence builds in every inch of his being.

♥︎♥︎♥︎

Mark likes to start his mornings slowly, drinking his coffee and watching the early rays of sunshine awaken the world from the comfort of his balcony, bundled up in a blanket and in his favourite armchair. 

It’s the best part of his day and it always has been, for as long as he can remember. It calms him to just sit there, the warm sun stroking his face, the chirping of birds his only distraction. The cool autumn breeze makes it easier to breathe as he thinks about the day ahead, the sun rising in the sky reminding him that no matter what happens today, there will always be a tomorrow.

“I hope you don’t mind some company.”

The voice — that Mark immediately recognises as belonging to Jaemin — almost makes him trip over the blanket he’s pulling with him, a small yelp leaving his lips.

“For fuck’s sake, Jaemin, what in fae’s name are you doing here?” His words are meant to be harsh but these are the first words he’s spoken this morning so his voice comes out harsh and raspy, not at all as annoyed as he intends it to sound.

“I was merely passing by the palace,” Jaemin quips, and now that Mark turns to look at him, he can see that the boy is perched on the edge of the balcony, swinging his legs and grinning incessantly.

“I mean on my balcony, Jaemin.”

“Well,” comes the reply just as Jaemin jumps down from the ledge, stepping towards Mark, “maybe I wanted to see you.”

“Well, I don’t want to see you.”

“Oh, don’t be like that Markie. You know you missed me.”

Markie. Mark finds himself softening at the nickname just the tiniest bit, but he doesn’t let himself show it.

“I want you to leave,” he announces. “I’m not just a young, naive fairy for you to seduce anymore. I have responsibilities, and a fiancé, and so much to do. I just don’t have time for this right now. I don’t have time for you.”

“I’ll leave,” Jaemin says after a moment. “If you leave with me. Take today off, just this once. Hang out with an old friend, have some fun.”

Mark knows he should say no. He should repeat what he said before, tell Jaemin to leave — but in this battle between his head and his heart, he finds that his heart is winning, and he can’t bring himself to say no. 

“You won’t leave until I agree, will you?”

“Well, of course, I won’t,” Jaemin grins. “How else would I annoy you into getting what I want?”

“You’re insufferable.”

“Just say yes.”

Mark bites his lip to hold back the yes that’s already on the tip of his tongue. Alas, as he looks at Jaemin and the rising sun behind him, all that he can think is that there’s always tomorrow for everything else he has to do.

“Just for today,” he nods. “I’ll go out with you.”

Jaemin’s cheer makes him smile, and within seconds, a giggle bursts through his carefully enforced walls. Just for today, he thinks, he’ll let himself take this trip down memory lane. Just for today, he’ll let himself be free.

♥︎♥︎♥︎

The day is fun. Mark laughs more than he had in what feels like a lifetime, until his sides sting and even smiling hurts a little bit.

Of course, he tried to keep things more formal at first but with Jaemin, it’s all too easy to slip back into the past, into the time when they were best of friends and much, _much_ more. As soon as Jaemin stepped onto the same path they always used to take towards their favourite meadow, the simple forest walk became none other than a trip down memory lane. 

When they sat in the field of wildflowers, Mark couldn’t help but reminisce about lying in Jaemin’s lap, book in hand and a content smile on his face. As Jaemin persuaded him to paddle in the nearby stream, Mark’s mind flew back to all the times they play-fought in that same water until one of them was pressed against the side of the waterfall, now only their tongues battling for dominance.

It’s bittersweet to think about those perfect moments. It’s hard knowing that this is the closest he’s come to being truly happy in a long time, but that this will inevitably pass. As Mark lays in the grass beside Jaemin, all he can think is how angry at the world it makes him that he’ll never get what he really wants.

As much as he enjoyed today, being with Jaemin makes everything harder and Mark can’t help but question whether the joy is worth the pain.

“Why are you here?” Marks asks, after what feels like an eternity in silence. “You’re not studying here anymore, and this is pretty far to go for a tailor.”

“Hey, it’s not just _a_ tailor. It’s Lee Jeno, he’s amazing, and I needed to look good for your wedding — although my invite seems to have gotten lost in the mail,” Jaemin gives a teasing non-answer and Mark finds himself laughing, but the sound catches in his throat.

“Why are you doing this?” he asks, eyebrows furrowed as he meets Jaemin’s eyes. “Why are you here, making me laugh and taking me on adventures? Making me feel like no time has passed, like we are something more than perfect strangers.”

"You know why, Mark.”

Another non-answer, but truth be told, Mark really does know why. He knew before he ever asked; hell, a part of him hoped from the first moment he laid eyes on Jaemin at the tailor shop. 

Still, the answer makes him angry and upset and everything in between. It makes him want to scream, and shout, and cry. Instead, he just drops his gaze to the ground, biting down on his lip until he can taste blood on his tongue.

“Don’t you understand you’re hurting me?” he asks, his question raw and honest and full of emotion. “My life, Jaemin, it’s not like yours. It’s not full of choices and opportunities. I don’t have all this time to do what I want. I just have responsibilities and things I have to do and—”

Mark’s voice cracks and with that, he ends his pained monologue. He’s already shown too much weakness, he can’t show any more by crying.

He honestly doesn’t know what he was expecting opening up like this, but he sure as hell was expecting a response. Instead, he is met with deafening silence.

It feels like forever before Jaemin speaks up, his voice quiet and seemingly devoid of emotion.

“If you go ahead with this marriage to Jisoo,” he starts. “You’ll be lonely for the rest of your life, Mark, and so will she. Neither of you deserve that.”

Mark is about to snap back, to tell Jaemin that it’s honestly none of his business and that it’s not like he has any choice in the matter. Instead, Jaemin’s next words completely disarm him, halting the world around them to a stop with the silent truth they hold.

“ _And I don’t deserve that either._ ”

♥︎♥︎♥︎

Mark doesn’t know what possessed him back in the meadows, but honestly, he doesn’t think he’s ever taken off quite so quickly. As soon as Jaemin uttered those words, Mark was up on his feet and within seconds, his feet were off the ground as he was flying back towards the castle.

The more he thinks about it, the more Mark realises that it isn’t Jaemin he was running from, it’s the truth.

Now, he’s transitioned from running to hiding, not having left his room since his return, the same conversation playing over and over again in his head, haunting him.

Na Jaemin is in love with him still, and as much as Mark wants to deny it — to hide from the truth — he, too, is in love with Na Jaemin.

Unfortunately, it seems that he can’t escape reality forever, and judging by the boy currently standing at the edge of his balcony, he can’t avoid Jaemin forever either.

“Can I come in?” Jaemin asks, his voice lacking its usual flirtatious touch. Today, it’s just quiet and careful, entirely out of character for the boy who takes such pride in his charm and ability to annoy. 

“Please don’t,” Mark says softly as he takes a seat on the edge of his bed, eyes looking in Jaemin’s direction but carefully avoiding his eyes, afraid of what it’ll do to him.

“I’m sorry.”

Mark doesn’t say anything. He’s not exactly angry at Jaemin — he honestly doesn’t have much reason to be — but it also wouldn’t be true to say that he hasn’t done anything wrong, or that everything is okay.

“I shouldn’t have said any of that, Mark. It wasn’t fair of me to make things even harder on you than they already are,” he sighs.

“You didn’t mean to make things hard, Jaem, I know that,” Mark replies softly. “It’s not your fault I’m in this situation.”

“I did, though,” Jaemin scoffs, clearly annoyed with himself. “I meant to make it hard for you because I thought that if I made you question your choice, you’d make a different one. I thought maybe, just maybe, you would choose me.”

Mark doesn’t know what to say to that. The words hit him like a bolt of lightning, painful and terrifying, but electrifying in a way that makes him feel so alive. 

“I love you, Mark. I have for as long as I can remember, and I won’t say that I always will, but it sure as hell feels that way now,” Jaemin says softly, stepping into the room, and despite his previous objection, Mark really does not mind. 

“I know it’s selfish of me to tell you that, and I’m only going to say this once, but I think I owe it to both of us to have that out in the open. You deserve to know, and I deserve to say it out loud, to have a real end to this, if that’s what you want.”

“I— I don’t know what I want, Jaem,” Mark sighs, standing up and stepping closer to the boy who’s now awkwardly leaning against his doorframe. “Fuck. That’s not true. I know exactly what I want, I just— it’s not that easy. It’s about so much more than feelings.” 

“You know what I think about all this, about you always putting Lemeria first, even before yourself.” 

Mark is about to interject that the last thing he needs right now is someone critiquing everything he was taught to believe, but Jaemin’s next words stop him dead in his tracks.

“I know that it’s important for you to do right by your princely duties, to put the prospects of your kingdom first. And trust me, I want to be selfish and kiss you and remind you what you’re going to be missing if you miss out on me — but exactly because I love you, I can’t be selfish with you Mark.” 

Butterflies. They are everywhere, fluttering inside Mark’s stomach, in his lungs, in his heart, making it hard to breathe, making his chest feel like it’s about to burst open. All sense goes out the window as he steps towards Jaemin again, until they’re so close that he can feel his breath fan across his lips. 

“All you have to do, Mark, is say the word. Tell me you want me to stay, tell me you want me to go. I’ll do whatever you want.” 

Mark doesn’t think he needs words to answer Jaemin’s question. He lifts his hand, resting it against Jaemin’s face as he looks into his eyes and—

The moment is interrupted by incessant banging quickly followed by the opening of his bedroom door. Mark drops his hands immediately, turning to find Donghyuck, his head guard, sword drawn and a worried expression on his face.

“Are you okay, Your Highness?” he demands, eyes darting between Mark and Jaemin, who’s standing far too close to him to be deemed normal. “I saw someone entering through the balcony, and by the looks of it, I got here just in time.”

Mark knows the words have double meaning. Donghyuck knows that Jaemin isn’t here to hurt anyone, he knows of Mark’s doubts surrounding his upcoming marriage — and both of them know that what he’s saving Mark from right now isn’t any real threat of danger, it’s himself.

“Sir, I would like to escort you outside. Right now,” Donghyuck continues, giving Jaemin a rather pointed look.

Jaemin makes no attempt to move, still as a statue aside from his eyes, which are desperately darting between Mark and the door.

“Jaemin, I told you to leave. Don’t make me use force.” Donghyuck repeats, his voice becoming increasingly threatening.

‘I’ll leave,” Jaemin says, his gaze meeting Mark’s so intensely that he can no longer ignore the situation at hand. “If Mark tells me to leave.”

Suddenly, it feels like there isn’t enough air left in the room to breathe. Mark is divided, another battle between his heart and his mind, with Donghyuck’s presence increasingly pulling him towards ration and reality.

He hates himself for the mistake he almost made, for the way he played with both Jaemin’s and his own emotions, how he let himself believe — but most importantly, he hates himself for the next words he speaks.

“I want you to leave.”

♥︎♥︎♥︎

_Dear Mark,_

_You’re getting married today, so I suppose congratulations would be in order, although that seems out of place coming from me._

_I would also be lying if I said I’m happy for you, but that isn’t because you’re marrying someone else. If you were truly in love and making the best decision for you, I think I could learn to accept that, learn to let you go. Maybe I would even go to your wedding, raise a glass, reminisce about our past and toast to your future._

_I can’t do that though, not when I know you’re only making this decision to please your father, to serve your country. Not when I know that this decision means throwing away your dreams, your happiness._

_When we were standing in your room, my confession hanging in the air, you didn’t retreat. You stepped towards me, Mark, and call me delusional, but I think you would’ve kissed me had Donghyuck not interrupted._

_Now, I’m not saying that this is some infallible proof of the fact that you’re in love with me, or that pursuing a relationship with me would be worth turning down your marriage proposal. What it does prove, however, is that you’re looking for an escape — and if you want my honest opinion, you deserve a way out._

_I told you that I love you and that means I can’t be selfish with you. I told you that if you told me to leave, I would leave, no questions asked — but honestly, I wasn’t expecting you to live with that opportunity. I was kind of hoping that you’d see me again and that you’d feel the same thing I felt, that you’d fall head over heels in love with me. I guess my own love made me lose sense because I had some foolish hope that you would choose me._

_Before I write this next part, I feel like I owe you an apology because I lied when I said that all you had to do was tell me to leave and I would leave you alone._

_Firstly, I can’t go without a goodbye. No matter the choice you’re making now, you can’t deny that we shared something beautiful. Even if we aren’t a forever love, you were my first love, and it was true love. I feel like this story deserves a better ending than an abrupt goodbye. It deserves a real ending, and I hope that in some way this letter — my admission of love — will do just that._

_Secondly, and more importantly, I have a request to make. I implore you, please, to rethink your choice. Not the one between Jisoo and I, between your duty to your kingdom and love. I would never ask you to choose me, I ask only that you choose your own happiness. I ask you to choose yourself._

_Mark Lee. You were a great person from the first day I met you, never judging me because I was different, never acting like you were above me because you were a Prince — and you’ve grown up to be a truly brilliant man since I’ve last seen you. I know that you’ll also be a brilliant King when the time comes, and that you’ll find an alternative solution to whatever problems it is you seek to solve by marrying Jisoo. Don’t ruin your life before it’s even really started._

_I’m going back to Eritzia today, and unless you otherwise request, I won’t be returning in your lifetime. I suppose this really is goodbye, then._

_I wish you all the best Mark, no matter what decision you make. I hope you’ll be able to find happiness, and the strength within you to stand up for yourself._

_I will always love and believe in you._

_Yours truly,_

_Na Jaemin_

♥︎♥︎♥︎

Your wedding day is supposed to be the happiest day of your life, Mark knows that. He’s supposed to be excited, tummy full of butterflies, smiling as he sees his loved ones gathered to see him tie his life to the person who he gave his heart to. The only tears he’s supposed to shed are the happy ones upon seeing his bride for the first time, because he’s just so in love and so lucky to be alive.

Reality is far from the dream, and Mark’s hands are trembling, mascara stained tears running down his cheeks as he reads the letter he found on his table just moments prior. 

A goodbye. A confession of love. A plea to choose himself, and a silent one to choose Jaemin. 

He wishes more than anything that it was so easy. He wishes that there wasn’t a crowd of people gathered in the chapel, and an even larger crowd gathered outside the castle, trapping him in even more than he was already trapped.

Jaemin said that he deserves an escape, a way out of a nightmarish situation he wanted to enter. He says that Mark is a good enough ruler to overcome the problems he’s trying to solve via this marriage. Is that true? Could he negotiate some sort of peace treaty after leaving Jisoo standing at the altar?

Mark doesn’t know. All that he does know is that going through with this wedding makes him a coward. If he’s to be a good Prince — to one day be a good King — he can’t surrender his choice this easily. He needs to talk to Jisoo. Maybe she’ll understand. Maybe there really is a way out, a way to choose himself.

Mark doesn’t know where he’s heading when he starts walking the castle hallways, but soon enough, he finds himself standing outside Jisoo’s room, his hand raised in a knuckle, ready to knock.

He freezes then, paralysed by the fear of what he’s about to do. A part of him knows that he should back away but he pushes it away, lightly tapping the door.

“Jesus, Mark,” Jisoo exclaims as soon as she opens the door. “You’re not supposed to see me before the wedding, remember? It’s bad luck for the marriage.”

Mark doesn’t reply. He just stares at Jisoo, at how pretty she is in her wedding dress, thinking about how lucky he should feel right now, thinking that she really deserves someone who’s going to love her. 

“Are you okay?” Jisoo asks, a worried expression taking over her features. “What’s wrong, Mark?”

“I— I can’t breathe,” Mark mutters, desperately gulping down oxygen. “Fuck, Jisoo, I can’t do this, I’m so sorry, I just can’t. I’m not in love with you and I won’t ever be and I—”

“I know, Mark,” Jisoo says softly, lifting her hand to his face to wipe away a tear Mark didn’t even realise he shed. “You don’t have to explain to me. Mark, you deserve to be happy. I don’t want to take that away from you.”

“Jisoo, I’m so sorry. Doing this… I’m not only risking international relations, I’m embarrassing you and I hate that. So much.”

“We’ll say it was a joint decision, okay?” Jisoo reassures. “After all, it’s not like I’m head over heels in love with you either. I think we both deserve to be loved, don’t you?”

Mark just nods then, the tears silently streaming down his face. He didn’t come here because he was choosing Jaemin; he came here because he was choosing himself, because Jisoo is right, and he deserves to be happy and to be loved. As he replays those words in his head though, he can’t help but think that he’s already loved. Na Jaemin is fiercely and immensely in love with him, and he’d have to be crazy to throw that away.

“I— I have to go,” he gets out after a moment. “I have something to do. I— I have to tell someone I love them.”

Jisoo just smiles, shaking her head slightly. “I hope I’ll be as in love one day as you clearly seem to be,” she chuckles. “Now go, do what you have to do.”

♥︎♥︎♥︎

Mark’s wings can’t carry him fast enough as he flies towards the bay. His mind is screaming the whole time, begging the universe and whatever higher being created it to let Jaemin still be there. 

He trains his eyes towards the row of ships, trying to find the one he knows belongs to Jaemin. Thanks to it’s brilliant red sails and black body, it doesn’t take him long to find it. The only issue is that it’s not amongst the docked ships where he spots it; it’s in the middle of the open water.

Mark is tired, his breathing ragged from all the flying and all the nerves, but he knows he can’t give up right now. He can’t let Jaemin get away, not now that he’s come this far.

So he keeps going, every flutter of his wings aching, his sides stinging but his morale kept up by the image of Jaemin’s face in his mind. 

By the time he lands on the ship, he’s so out of breath that he can barely explain to the men on the deck what the prince of Lemeria is doing aboard their ship and why he needs to know where Jaemin is.

He’s just spluttering out the end of his nonsensical explanation when Jaemin emerges from below the deck, eyes and mouth both wide open.

“Mark? You’re here. Oh my god, you’re here,” he gasps. “Wait, what _are_ you doing here?”

Words hardly seem adequate for the storm of feelings swirling around in Mark’s head, but maybe that’s okay. Maybe this isn’t something to explain, a problem to solve — maybe this time, it’s enough to feel.

So instead of words, Mark just marches across the deck until he’s face to face with Jaemin, their faces just inches apart. He barely stops to breathe before pressing his lips against Jaemin’s, arms pulling the boy near, desperate to be as close to him as possible. 

It almost feels like their bodies melt into one, like he doesn’t know where his ends and Jaemin’s begins, the simple short kiss pushing him into an enamoured trance.

“I should’ve done that when you told me you loved me,” he says when they pull apart, meeting Jaemin’s gaze, unable to stop grinning. “I should’ve done it, and not because I was looking for just any escape. I should’ve done it because I _love_ you, Jaemin.”

Jaemin looks dumbfounded at his words and Mark continues before he can pull it together enough to form words.

“To be honest, I don’t think I ever stopped loving you. I was just scared of what loving you meant, and I thought that if I just followed the rules, if I just did what I had to do, then everything would be okay,” he mutters. “But then you walked into that tailor shop and back into my life and you reminded me not only of how much I loved you, but of what it meant to really _live,_ and not just exist. I—”

Jaemin ends Mark’s rambling by kissing him again, hands flying to his waist and pulling him close.

“You never cease to amaze me,” he mutters against Mark’s lips.

“Why?” Mark giggles.

“Well,” Jaemin chuckles. “Because you’re crazy, and impulsive, and oblivious, and so goddamn good-looking in that suit… but most importantly, because you drive me so fucking crazy, Mark Lee.”

“Guess that’s love for you, huh?”

“Well, I most certainly am in love.”

It seems there really are many ways people fall in love. In Mark’s case, it was an old friend and a love that stood the test of time. It showed up in his life at the most perfect time, but also in the most unexpected moment. 

After all, love is multifaceted and unpredictable. There are no guarantees, no rules it has to follow — and isn’t that the beauty of it? 

After this whole ordeal, Mark most certainly thinks so.

**Author's Note:**

> a happy ending??? written by me??? y'all have nana to thank for that one haha
> 
> i hope you all enjoyed this fic and as always, kudos are very appreciated and i would love to hear your thoughts in the comments
> 
> find meeee  
> [ curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/dcrksun)  
> &  
> [my twitter](https://twitter.com/dcrksun)
> 
> commissions are open ;)


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